There are several different local SEO tips you can use for your local business. Ranking a website in Cape Town using SEO isn’t an easy endeavour. There is a lot of competition, so ranking is a challenging process. Here is a few tips on how to optimise your website for search engines.
This way people searching for a company like yours will find your business.
Perform keyword research and create the website with those keywords in mind
Are you looking to attract more customers through organic search results? Then you need to make sure that your website is optimised for search engine algorithms. This means that you should use relevant keywords throughout your site. You also need to ensure that these keywords appear within your text. Don’t keyword stuff! You should also have helpful and useful content on your website.
Install an SEO plugin and optimise it.
SEO plugins have been a staple in the WordPress community for many years. Everyone wants to rank number 1 for their chosen search query.
Every SEO also has their favourite SEO plugins. Whether it’s Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All-In-One SEO or SEOpress. At the end of the day, the best SEO plugin is still one that works and has the features that you need.
You can go with either a paid or free plugin. Paid plugins usually have more features. I like to use SEOpress because it is affordable and has all the features that help me rank the websites. Always remember to further optimise the website. Use the “green light” checklist.
Once you have installed your SEO plugin, you need to optimised it. Once this has been done it is time to submit your XML sitemap to Google. You can submit your XML and all your pages to Google through Google Search Console. This allows Google to index your website and crawl it. If you don’t submit anything to the Search Console it won’t rank at all.
Optimise your website for Site speed
Since page speed has become an algorithm ranking factor. It has become more important than ever to build websites that are optimised for speed.
This can be achieve through the following:
- VPS hosting
- Lightweight WordPress themes such as GeneratePress
- Lightweight WordPress Gutenberg Editors such as GenerateBlocks.
- WP Rocket
- Perfmatters
This will help you create a fast and responsive website. This setup will help deliver the website to your user in the fastest possible manner.
The above setup also isn’t expensive. Cloudways hosting can start at $10/month. GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks also is an affordable solution that is paid annually. Perfmatters and WP Rocket combined cost around $75 annually.
Create local specific content and optimise
Creating local-specific SEO content for your website can be quite simple to do. It is also easy to optimise if you know what Google is looking for.
One of the best ways to find local specific content is to search for it.
You can type your targeted search query into Google and pull up the top 10 results. Then you can review each page and see what kind of content is on there.
This method will show you want kind of information it values for the search query. The information could be faq sections or areas it services. Alternatively, it can provide info on the service itself or the team performing the work.
All this information gives Google clarity on your business. What it is about and what the webpage should be ranking for. Placing specific keywords on the site will also help you rank for that.
There is a variety of different types of local content you can have on your website. Your local content should consist of product or service-related content and informational content.
Here is a list of some options:
Service-related content:
- Services you provide
- Products you sell
Informational content:
- Blog posts
- FAQ content
- Reviews/ testimonials
Leverage schema markup for local businesses
Using structured data on your website’s can help Google. Schema markup helps Google understand your business. For example, where it is located, what you do or what services you provide.
There are a variety of different structured data types you can use.
Structured data types include:
- Professional services such as accountants and lawyers
- Home services such as construction businesses
- Restaurants and entertainment etc.
Picking the best local business schema markup can have an impact on where you wear website ranks.
Google business profile setup
Setting up a Google Business Profile is an important part of ranking a local business.
Using Google Business Profile can increase your organic traffic. As a result you can get more local views for “Near Me” searches. This can help increase your conversion rate because you are in the vicinity of the searcher.
The Google Business Profile allows you to add your information to profile. There are many things that you can add to Google Business Profile. You can add the info under the manager section to help increase your local maps rankings.
These are:
- Adding weekly posts
- Make sure you get reviews
- Post photos of your business, staff and the work you do – a little more on images later
- Add the products or services
- Messaging for clients
- Add all necessary information about your business
- Create local business ads to start driving traffic
There is a direct relation to doing this and improving your local maps rankings.
Social Media channels – using links and engagement to grow your business
Social media can have a positive effect on your local business. There are many ways this can improve the revenue of your business. Here are some of the ways using social media can help your business.
Using social media for SEO purposes is also sometimes called social signals. The idea is that social media sites have links to and from your website. People can go to your site to find out more about your business and contact you.
Having social media links on your website will help you get more followers. As a result you can start building relationships. Social media sites can also help people find you if they are searching for a business or product.
Build a community around your business
It is important to build your community around your business. This allows people to become fans of your business. It also keeps your company on top of mind.
Start a link-building campaign
Link building is important to improve your rankings. Guest posting on websites can increase your website’s authority. This improves the rankings.
Include a variety of Images.
Adding images to your site makes it more appealing and easier for users to navigate. This also helps search engines understand what your pages are about. They work by using “alt Text” to understand the image. It is worth noting that geo-location tagging doesn’t work anymore.
Adding images is also important for your Google Business Profile. Adding a variety of images on the profile and adding a video if you like can benefit your Google Maps rankings. Images can be of the work you are doing, the team and the office space. We usually say, have fun with it.
Build Trust by Being Transparent with your customers.
If you want people to trust you, then you need to show them who you are. Be transparent with your customers and let them see how you operate. Show them what you do, and how you perform in your business. Build relationships.
Use reviews to build trust
Have you ever decided to eat at a new restaurant and not checked the Google reviews and Facebook reviews? No? No one has.
Have you ever gone online to buy something and not researched the company or checked out Hello Peter? No, No one has done that either.
It often is the largest deciding factor whether to do business with a company or not. You can build reviews by offering incentives to put a review online. It is also important to have a good product or service.
If you have great customer service or support you will see the benefits. This is usually the most common frustration with businesses.
Be Consistent with your marketing efforts
Consistency is key when it comes to your marketing goals. You need to be consistent with your marketing efforts to achieve your goals.
Consistency can look like this:
- Post on social media a few times a week
- Add a few blog posts per week
- Build backlinks to your website
- Spend time on your Google Business Profile
It all adds up to the long-term goal of achieving your results.
Step-by-step guide in executing all these tips in order.
- Build a fast, mobile responsive website. Ensure it has useful, relevant and helpful content on it. Ensure that content can help the user make an informed decision to go with your company.
- Make sure you have inserted your schema markup.
- Install SEOpress and submit everything to the Google Search Console.
- Create your Google Business Profile.
- Leverage social media content and engage with everyone on the social media platforms.
- Create blog post content about your business, the industry and how it all relates to your area.
- Start a link-building campaign.
- Be consistent! And you will achieve your goals.
Well, there you have it. A selection of SEO tips for local businesses based in Cape Town. If you need SEO services, please contact us.
